Changes to the EIS scheme that encourages private investment in promising UK start-up and growth companies announced in last year’s autumn budget were largely considered at the time as a positive development. Phillip Hammond, the incumbent Chancellor of the Exchequer raised the investment allowance eligible to benefit from the scheme’s tax breaks to £2 million a year from £1 million. EIS investors gain tax relief of 30% of their initial investment into companies raising capital through the scheme. In the event of the investment proving unsuccessful and a loss having to be subsequently written off, much of that is also subsequently tax deductible, significantly reducing the risk profile of EIS investments.

Anyone who has or is considering investing online in cryptocurrencies will have most likely been more than a little concerned over steep price drops since the beginning of the year. Bitcoin futures beginning to trade on major US regulated exchanges CME and Cboe led to a sharp upward surge in the prices of most major cryptocurrencies late last year. The move was interpreted as marking cryptocurrencies making a significant step towards mainstream adoption and integration into financial markets.